Vinicius Jr is the type of player that captivates lovers of the beautiful game. Explosive, a great dribbler of the ball, with the ability to score important goals, this Brazilian ace belongs to the elite of world sport, despite his youth. The logical consequence is that his professional colleagues have put him on the verge of joining the FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11.
The votes of professional footballers all over the world have decreed that Vini Jr is on the shortlist of 23 finalists for the 2023 team of the year, which on this occasion rewards individual performances from 19 December 2022 and 20 August 2023 inclusive.
There will be three forwards chosen for the World 11, with the possibility of a fourth if the player with the most votes after the 10 selected — one goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards — also plays as an attacker.
Along with Vinicius, the forward candidates are Karim Benzema, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Vini Jr in 2023
The year began for Vinicius with the runner-up position in the Spanish Super Cup, but things soon improved for the Real Madrid No7 when his side were crowned champions of the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup, played in Morocco in February 2023. And Vinicius was voted best player of the tournament.
His influence on winning the title was crucial: a goal in the semi-final against Al-Ahly — as well as being awarded a penalty — and two goals plus an assist in the final against Al-Hilal.
The same was true in the second championship won by Real: the Copa del Rey. Los Blancos beat Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals, Barcelona in the semi-finals and Osasuna in the final. In all these decisive matches, Vini made his mark.
He settled the Madrid derby in extra time with an assist and a goal, opened the scoring in the historic 4-0 victory over Barça at the Camp Nou — also providing a goalscoring pass — and assisted Rodrygo in the decisive match against the team from Navarre.
In La Liga — where Real finished as runners-up — Vinicius finished fourth in the goals & assists category with a total of 19.
